Abstract
This paper focuses on discussions surrounding so called “voluntary service”, the services toward caretakers in the field of medical service, social welfare, education and so on. Among the distinctive features of voluntary services are the various and dynamic activities which derive from changing ‘object made in relationship with other’. Traditional action theory in utilitarianism, however, on the assumption of a fixed and definite “object” is not sufficient to explain this dynamism of voluntary service. I begin by summarizing this action theory within sociology and go on to adapt it to voluntary services, thereby overcoming some of the original limitations on this theory. Finally, I review voluntary services with an attempt to examine the basic definitions and concepts.
